La Forêt: Instagram-worthy brunch spot in Burnaby

La Forêt is a trendy cafe located in Burnaby. The space used to be a giant garage of some sort, but they have transformed it into an aesthetically pleasing cafe, with giant (fake) plants and open seating.

Food

La Forêt’s menu includes a selection of breakfast platters, waffles, soups, sandwiches and paninis, pastries and cakes.

Brunch platters

There are a bunch of brunch platters you can choose from and they cost around $13-16. Most parts of the platters are the same – you get 2 eggs cooked your way, buttered toast with strawberry jam, a balsamic almond and cranberry salad and some oven roasted potatoes.

I do like their salad – it has a very refreshing dressing and is light. The eggs can be customized your way except I am not sure they do poached eggs. They make the toast a little special by adding in one slice that is squid-ink (i.e. black bread), but that toast still tastes the same. Potatoes are amazing as potatoes usually are.

The “main star” of the platter is different depending on the platter you choose.

Fried chicken platter ($16)

New to the menu is their fried chicken platter. It includes fried buttermilk chicken (boneless thigh) with some house-made wasabi mayo.

The fried chicken was yummy but small nugget sizes. The texture/deep-fried level is average. Don’t expect a big chicken drumstick or anything like that. It’s nice that it is boneless.

Sausage platter ($15)

Also new to their menu is the sausage platter. It includes 5 kinds of sausages with again, wasabi mayo.

This might be perfect for your sausage-loving fan. Take that sentence however you wish.

Bulgogi platter ($15)

The platter I usually prefer is the bulgogi platter. Bulgogi literally means “fire meat” and is a Korean-style beef dish. They use thin marinated slices of beef or pork grilled on a BBQ or griddle.

Pear & proscuitto sandwich ($13)

I’ve only been trying their brunch platters so when I came for lunch the other day I took a look at their sandwiches. The pear & proscuitto sandwich made me think of the pear baguette sandwiches from Finch’s Tea House (so good!), so I decide to give this a try.

Verdict: it’s not as good as Finch’s.

La Forêt’s pear & proscuitto sandwich is also in a French baguette with pear slices and proscuitto. They also had honey-ricotta, walnuts, sprouts, radishes and balsamic drizzle. I could have done without the sprouts, but everything else was still nice.

It also includes their classic balsamic almond and cranberry salad with a bigger portion than in the platter.

Final thoughts

I really enjoy spending time in La Forêt, mostly because of the atmosphere. If you are planning to study here, I was told they turn off the wifi on the weekend to encourage people to give up their spots as it can get very busy. I’m not sure if this is still something they do. Not every table has an outlet.

Their brunch platters are a good deal in my opinion and I do like every component in the platter. They are large enough to share between two people. It is on my list to try their cakes as they all look very cute (but not cheap).

Parking may be difficult but there is some more spots in the back as well as residential street parking and a park across the street. My suggestion is to bring your mom or have a coffee date here.

Sincerely, Loewe